“Switzerland would be a mighty big place if it were ironed flat.” - Mark Twain
If you had told me four mornings ago that a humble-sounding man named Gideon Jennings in South Carolina was going to lead me back to the Romansh part of the Swiss Alps called the Grisons (Graubünden), I would have laughed. With an open mind and good source documents along with other detailed research information, the pieces started to fit together. Since I appear to be the first person to have put these pieces together for our family online, I will include numbered sources in the narrative and at the end of the post.
Bainvegni!
Welcome! to Soglio voted the most beautiful village in Switzerland for 2015. The Romansh language is the fourth nationally recognized language in Switzerland even though the only area that speaks it is in the canton of the Grisons (Graubünden).
Soglio, Switzerland, posted at LifeAndAll.org 21 Nov 2020
Google Maps locates Soglio in the southeastern area of Switzerland (Schweiz) about 4 miles from the border of Italy (Italia):
Gaudentius (Latin) > Gaudenzio (Italian) > Godenz (Romansh) > Godinzo/Godens (English) > Gideon (South Carolina English!)
Zanin (Latin and Romansh) > Zanini (Italian) > Ganina (English) > Jennins/Jennings (South Carolina English!)
From The Colonization of Bregaglia3 for the surname Zanini on page 223, we find that the name “Gianin/Zanin(i) dates back to the name Zaninus (de Serta) which appears in Soglio in 1387, originating from Val Serta/Zerta, a side valley of Val San Giacomo at the foot of the Spluga.” So, “of Serta/Zerta” refers to the area of Italy just over the border from Soglio. Because of the popularity with hikers and runners of the Splüga Pass, it’s been hard to find this area. But, I think I found it: Protected Planet has it listed as Val Zerta, Italy, shown in green with the dark gray line being the Italian/Swiss border, and the little town of Soglio, Switzerland, is on the far right at the top of the white, zig-zaggy road (https://www.protectedplanet.net/555528370):
The Colonization of Bregaglia3 has a footnote #167 on page 223 that says “Note that de Serta, the place of origin, still appears two centuries after the immigration to Soglio.” Immigration? That implies the family was motivated to leave the Val Zerta area. Harriet Imrey6 makes a strong case that the family was part of the Waldensians, a Proto-Protestant religion. The Catholic Church had been persecuting the Waldensians as early as the 1200s, and Soglio had a reputation for sheltering Italian religious refugees.
Waldensian symbol Lux lucet in tenebris ("A light shines in the darkness") uploaded by Bwag at Wikimedia.org
Now that we have an understanding of the who, where and why, let’s meet our Zanin aka Jennings family:
1387 - Jacomolo Zaninus de Serta3 first appears in the Soglio civil records
More names appear after this time but it is not certain how they fit into a family tree until we get to: (info in parentheses is my insertion of data)
Dominicus Gianin de Serta3 b. abt 1560 (d. after birth of son in 1588). He had:
Gaudenzio3 b. 1588 d. 1663. He had two wives: Lucia who died 1672, and Clara, daughter of Antonii Johannoli Bosi. Assuming he was at least 18 when he first married, we can guesstimate his first marriage was about 1606. He had:
1. Antonius3 (b. abt 1618) d. 1672 m. Barbara de Salis (b. 1618) died aged 42 in 1660. My Note: in the hope that Barbara was about 18 when she married, we can guesstimate their marriage about 1636. Using this marriage year, we can approximate Antonius’ birth year to be about or before 1618.
2. Dominicus3 d. 1663
3. Rodolphus3 b. 1629 d. 1699
Now, we switch over to Soglio’s Protestant church records1,2 where we find a bit more detail: (info in parentheses is my insertion of data)
Antonio Zanin de Zerta1 (b. bef 1632 d. aft 1650 based on son’s birth year) had:
Gaudentius/Godenz Zanin de Zerta chr. 13 Oct 16501 in Soglio (d. aft birth of last known child in 1695) m1. 30 Apr 16781 in Soglio to Urzetta Coretto (b. abt or bef 1660) bur. 28 Jan 16881 in Soglio. They had:
1. Antonio chr. 18 Jan 16801 in Soglio
2. Jann chr. 2 Apr 16821 in Soglio
3. Gaudentius/Godenz chr. 23 Dec 16831 in Soglio d. 29 Mar 17504 in Orangeburg, Orangeburgh Dist., South Carolina
4. Barbara chr. 10 Jan 16861 in Soglio (Note: the name Barbara showing up again)
He married second on 6 Jul 16881 in Soglio to Mierta Costin and had three daughters: Lucretia (1692- ), Catarina (1693- ), and Anna (1695- ).
Marriage record from the Evangelical Reform Church in Soglio, Bregaglia, Graubünden, Switzerland uploaded by baileys2001 at Ancestry.com
An interesting court record was found by Joel H. Hutto regarding this marriage date7. It turns out that their first born son, Gaudenzio, was christened on 3 Jan 17157. As Joel H. Hutto describes:
“Gaudenzio Zanin baptism from 1715 was brought before the court to determine who the father was, which child was born to Orsa, dau of Philippi Margnini. At the foot of the record “NB” was added meaning Nota Bene, basically a footnote, which stated that it was determined that the father was Gaudentius Zanin (Gideon Jennings) and the (sic) they were subsequently married which married (sic) took place 6 days after the baptism of the child according to the marriage record.”7
So, the known children of Gaudentius Zanin and Ursula Margnini are:
1. Gaudenzio chr. 3 Jan 17151 in Soglio bur. 30 Jul 17341 in Soglio
2. Marghareta chr. 24 Feb 17171 in Soglio bur. 24 May 17171 in Soglio
3. Johannes (John) chr. 20 Apr 17181 in Soglio d. bef 3 Jul 1787 in Orangeburg, South Carolina
4. Philippus (Philip) chr. 6 Dec 17191 in Soglio d. abt 1795 in Orangeburg, South Carolina
5. Ursetta/Ursula chr. 10 Mar 17231 in Soglio d. abt 1780 in Orangeburg, South Carolina
It’s not known why or exactly when Gaudentius and Ursula decided to leave Switzerland. No passenger lists have been found showing their names. However, their pastor in Switzerland, Hans Ulrich Gietzendanner, left in 1736 after authorities passed a law forbidding any meetings that would pull people away from established worship5. So, it’s assumed that Gaudentius and Ursula would have followed him that same year to South Carolina.
Rev. John Giessendanner (Hans Ulrich’s nephew) noted in his records for Gideon Jennings’ death in 1750 that Gideon had been a liver in Orangeburg for 14 years, putting his arrival at 17364. A liveryman is someone who works at or runs a stable where people can board or rent horses.
Next, we find our Godinzo/Gideon in South Carolina’s land records obtaining land and a city lot next to his sister-in-law, Sabina Woolsa (scroll up to the “boat”. This is Sibilla Margnini (Mrs. Han Luca Wolf):
Godinzo Ganina 1 Feb 1737 - 250 acres in the Orangeburgh Township in Berkeley County and a half-acre Lot #34 in the town of Orangeburg9:
Now it’s getting about time for the “kids” to start getting married. On page 109 in Salley’s book8, we see the following line-item marriages in Orangeburg County, SC:
56. Joseph Cuttier to Ann Mary Sähly on 27 Mar 17418 (grandparents of Joseph Cutrer listed in the lineage #9 at the end of this post)
62. Phillip Jennings to Elizabeth on 7 Feb 17468 (Ursula Zanin aka Jennings’ brother)
77. Brand Pendarvis to Ursetta Jennings on 28 Apr 17488 (daughter of Godenz/Gideon Jennings)
Up until 1749, Rev. John Giessendanner had been a “Dissenter” minister in Orangeburgh Township. However, on 27 May 1749, the citizens of Orangeburg signed a petition backing Rev. Giessendanner going to London and becoming a priest in the Anglican Church of England. One of the signers was our Godens Jennins10.
Rev. Giessendanner recorded in his Book in 17504:
On Saturday March 30th was entered (sic) in the Church yard of Orangeburgh the Body of Gideon Jennings, an old Protestant Italian Liver in this Township these 14 years past, who died the day before, his age unknown4.
He also recorded the burial of Gideon’s wife, Ursula, in 17564:
On Friday, September 17th died and was enterred (sic) in the Church yard of Orangeburgh the Body of Ursula, widow of Gideon Zanini, alias Jennings, late Orangeburgh deceas’d…. Aged Sixty Seven Years4.
Gideon and Ursula’s tombstone is a collective marker for Rev. John Giessendanner’s congregation with unmarked graves:
Old Pioneer Graveyard marker, Orangeburg, SC. Located next to the Orangeburg County Historical Society’s Salley Archives, 1421 Middleton Street (State Rd. S-38-211), Orangeburg, SC. Picture uploaded by mikah127 at Ancestry.com.
So, here is the Cutrer lineage back to the Zanins of Switzerland:
13) Gaudenzio/Godenz Zanin b. bef 13 Oct 1650 Soglio, Graubünden, Switzerland d. aft 1695 prob. Soglio, Graubünden, Switzerland m. Urzetta Coretto b. abt 1660 d. 28 Jan 1688 Soglio, Graubünden, Switzerland. Urzetta is the daughter of Rodolfo Coretto.
11) Ursetta Zanin aka Jennings b. bef 10 Mar 1723 Soglio, Graubünden, Switzerland d. abt 1779 Orangeburg Co., SC m. PS Brand Pendarvis* b. abt 1724 Colleton Co., SC d. aft 16 May 1788 Orangeburg Co., SC
10) Benjamin Pendarvis b. 9 Feb 1751 Orangeburg Co., SC d. Dec 1780 Orangeburg Co., SC m. Sarah Salley b. 13 Mar 1758 Orangeburg Co., SC d. 1818 Orangeburg Co., SC
9) Mary Anna Pendarvis b. 11 Sep 1778 Orangeburg Co., SC d. 5 Mar 1844 Spring Creek, Tangipahoa, LA m. Joseph Cutrer b. 29 Sep 1772 Orangeburg Co., SC d. 28 Oct 1829 Washington Par., LA
8) Joseph Cutrer b. 4 Jul 1806 St. Tammany (now Washington) Par., LA d. aft. 1880 Washington Par., LA m. Rachel Jane Varnado b. 1812 Pike Co., MS d. 1880 Pike Co., MS
7) Hiram Harper Cutrer b. 5 Aug 1847 Osyka, Pike, MS d. 2 Sep 1929 Pike Co., MS m. Sarah Jane Fortenberry b. 21 Jun 1846 Marion Co., MS d. 15 Dec 1886 Pike Co., MS
6) Isaac Omer Cutrer b. 8 Sep 1871 St. Helena Par., LA d. 31 Jan 1941 Washington Par., LA m. Fannie Rebecca Smith b. 16 Sep 1881 LA d. 21 Jan 1923 Progress, Pike, MS
5) Ollie Lee Cutrer b. 11 Oct 1903 Osyka, Pike, MS d. 6 Oct 1996 St. Francisville, West Feliciana, LA m. Laura Mae Robertson b. 18 Oct 1911 AR d. 28 Mar 1955 New Orleans, Orleans, LA
4) Robert Lee Cutrer b. 8 Nov 1927 New Orleans, Orleans, LA d. 26 Apr 2002 Lacombe, St. Tammany, LA m. Mary Elaine Healy b. abt. 1929 New Orleans, Orleans, LA d. 31 May 2008 Lacombe, St. Tammany, LA
3) Private (information withheld) and Private (information withheld)
2) Private (information withheld) and Private (information withheld)
1) BAC, my son-in-law (living - information withheld)
*For more on PS Brand Pendarvis, see Lineages: Cutrer > Pendarvis - South Carolina.
Sources in Switzerland:
1. Schweiz, Katholische und Reformiert Kirchenbücher, 1418-1996, transcriptions available at FamilySearch.org. Original images are being digitized as of November 2023. https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/4138674
2. Soglio Baptisms, Marriages, Burials 1650-1760, formerly available at FamilySearch.org but removed for digitizing as of November 2023. Sources given for family members using these church records will be considered accurate until the records are available online again.
3. La colonizzazione della Bregaglia alla luce dei suoi nomi dal 1000-1800 (The Colonization of Bregaglia in Light of its Names from 1000-1800) Vol. 3 by G. A. Stampa in the magazine Graubünden-Italian Notebooks, 1971 at https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=qgi-001%3A1971%3A40%3A%3A369
Sources in South Carolina:
4. Book of Record, Orangeburg, SC, by Hans Ulrich Giessendanner, the elder, and his son, Rev. John (Hans Ulrich) Giessendanner online at https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/a-index.html
5. Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society at https://www.ogsgs.org/
6. OrangeburghSC Discussion regarding Gideon Jennings at Groups.io at https://groups.io/g/OrangeburghSC/topic/gideon_jennings_revisited/74651315?p=
7. OrangeburghSC Discussion regarding Margnini Sisters at Groups.io at https://groups.io/g/OrangeburghSC/message/401?p=%2C%2C%2C20%2C0%2C0%2C0%3A%3Arecentpostdate%2Fsticky%2C%2Cprince+of+wales%2C20%2C2%2C0%2C82728505
8. The History of Orangeburg County South Carolina From Its First Settlement to the Close of the Revolutionary War, Alexander Samuel Salley, Jr. (Orangeburg, SC: R. Lewis Berry, Printer, 1898)
9. South Carolina Department of Archives and History at https://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/
10. Petition of Citizens of Orangeburgh Township in Behalf of Rev. John Giessendanner, 1749, The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jan.-Apr., 1923) pp. 48-51 at https://www.jstor.org/stable/27569606
Other Information Researched:
Gideon Jennings discussion at https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/melungeon/19763/
Jennings-McMillan, Faulling-Whaley-Bluer, and Other Early Families of South Carolina, Carnice Jennings Groves - Printing Department of Daytona Beach Community College, 1971.
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